OK, so when I said yesterday that there would no winner, was I right or was I right?

By the way, the poll in Le Journal de Montréal that gives Duceppe a clear victory means absolutely nothing. People always say that whoever they were favoring before the debate won it. So it's no surprise. And it's meaningless.

In other news:

* Tonight's the second debate (this one in English). Compared to yesterday's, this is the one Harper and Martin have to win. That's what they both asked Santa for.

Me, I want this:

A loss by either one isn't the end of the world but it complicates things for them in a major, major way. Harper's message: I'm not the devil incarnate. Martin's message: Things have already changed for the better. Layton's message: I'm relevant. Duceppe's message (essentially for recent immigrants to Quebec): we care for Quebec, not just for sovereignty.

* Latest SES-CPAC rolling poll (completed Wednesday) tells us that Conservatives and Liberals are up by 1%, NDP down by 2%, all others unchanged. Liberals' lead still at 7%. The NDP's curve is a sad sight. They were at 20% on November 13, they're now at 12% (that's 40% of their vote that has disappeared).